#the one with the caramel lizard den

[nighttimetapestry]

I CAST SUMMON VULTURE

[projectmainframe]

New subregion! This one mainly focuses and themes around the purposed organisms designed for beauty, living in glass boxes.

Forgotten Gallery

A large structure created with the purpose of acting as a zoo or art museum of sorts. Glass boxes line the walls, containing beautiful creatures, some dead due to thirst or starvation, some plucked down to bone by other creatures, some alive, and some thriving. Many of these enclosures either have desperate scratch marks, usually containing weak or deceased creatures, while others are shattered, their inhabitants roaming the grounds. Nevertheless, all of the containers were made to contain nothing but their inhabitants, meaning no items, food, or entertainment can be found.

Creatures!

Rose lizard / getaway prevention system A lizard specifically designed to meet the ancient’s idea of beauty and elegance. Unfortunately, part of their ideas of lizard grace was sharp claws. Using a charge attack similar to a green or caramel lizard, they leap through the air and attempt to land on you and slice you with their claws. Getting sliced will temporarily weaken your speed and spear damage, but repetition results in random Hunter-like stuns, exhaustion, and sloppier crafting (Less durability or effect). This happens with all slicing and piercing creature attacks, and can be nullified by using self-made bandages or resting in a shelter. Getting slice damage inflicted too many times without treatment will make you drop to the floor out of exhaustion more and more often until you die. This way, even if you can escape from a creature’s grasp, you’re never going to get out without some damage. Rose lizards are typically very agile, able to keep up the same pace as the player.

Kintsugi moth

A passive creature in the form of a moth. There are multiple varieties of these moths, all ranging from any shade of black, white, and grey. These moths sport extravagant golden line patterns that swirl along their bodies. They are prey animals and will eat batflies, leeches, and plant life. They can usually be found flying around with food folded in their arms with the goal of storing large amounts of food in their dens to survive the harsh climate and little foliage, and they will drop these items when stunned. Unfortunately, they have heightened senses allowing them to hear and see you from a while away. Giving them food will raise your reputation with them, meaning they will sometimes drop you two food items that they consider a meal, which can unfortunately include leeches. Killing them will lower your reputation, and most moths will fly away immediately upon sensing your presence. Occasionally, their pupae can be found hanging a short distance from ceilings, looking like larger, taller green blue fruits. Grabbing and eating them will grant you 1 food pip, but taking one to your shelter and hibernating with it will result in two babies, each giving you 2 food pips. If an adult spots you carrying the pupae or newly-emerged moths, your reputation will drop by a large margin. Throwing an alive baby to an adult will raise your reputation by the amount lost +10. Infant moths cannot be found in the wild, due to them being kept in their guardian’s shelter.

[restart-the-cycle]

Can we compare lizard species in our regions, by chance? I'm still discovering more, but I'll tell you as soon as I do find any new ones!

For now, here's a list and some basic features. I'm curious what yours are!

White Lizards - Camouflaging and a long, sticky tongue. An ambush predator mainly coming in shades of white and gray with black accents. Some back spikes.

Blue Lizards - Dark blue and black lizards with long, sticky tongues that cling to walls and chase their prey, trapping it and closing the distance quickly. Some back spikes.

Sea Lizards - A variant of Blue Lizards that, in addition to everything they do, can swim excellently and hold their breath underwater. I believe them to be the result of a Blue Lizard and Eel Lizard or Salamander.

Eel Lizards - Fast-swimming semi-aquatic lizards with narrow, wiry bodies. Mainly black and green with hydrodynamic spines along their backs. I have observed them climbing walls and poles, though rarely leaving the water. They can breathe underwater.

Salamanders - Another semi-aquatic lizard, though far thicker built than Eel Lizards. They come in pale shades of pink and white commonly, but are sometimes darker. They also have a shorter tongue, but can fully breathe underwater.

Coral Lizards - A unique species of lizard that is gold or pale yellow in color. They usually come in groups, and while they lack a particularly vicious bite, tongue, or spit, they overwhelm prey. They can hold their breath for a long time and communicate with a pair of tendrils on their head, and tend to drown their prey.

Shark Lizards - A fully aquatic lizard species. They're mostly gray and white, but interestingly, they have fins instead of hind legs and along their back. They tend to hunt in shallower waters, and their dorsal fin tends to breach the surface before they strike. Rather interesting, is that they cannot survive on land.

Storm Lizards - Dark gray and black lizards with wavy and curled edges instead of spines or spikes. They are excellent swimmers, but most notably, they are adapted to hunt during the storms. I'm still studying it, but they hunt near the end of a cycle and force creatures out of dens to die in the rains or stalk safe places to snap up fleeing prey.

Hurricane Lizards - I've only found two of these in my region, and they tend to fight frequently. They're dark purple, and humongous. The ground quakes when they move. They're also highly aggressive and deadly to be around. I shudder at the sight of them. (OOC Note: Train Lizard, Monarch's just a lil' stupid)

I am currently exploring another two species that may be here. I cautiously dub one 'Archer Lizards' and the other 'Rainbow Lizards', but truly, I have no idea yet.

-@monarchtonone

sure!

i have have white lizards and blue lizards, and the hurricane lizard sounds similar to the train lizard i have here.

i also have

green lizards - black with a green head and some green on the end of tail and legs. it is a slower and heavier but tougher lizard, has a more lethal bite, and can charge towards it’s victims. it also cannot climb at all. it is the base lizard for the laser lizards

cyan lizards - lizards that are, who could’ve guessed, cyan. they have rings on them, much like my alternate in keeper’s portal. they are able to climb walls and leap, which the leap is very quick and can function as both a way of capturing prey and getting around quickly. the leap can cause them to fall or drop it’s prey, though. they also have a tongue, although it is shorter. it is the base lizard for the zoomies lizards

caramel lizards - large white and caramel colored lizard that has six legs and a rectangular head . it can charge, similar to a green lizard, and it can spit projectiles. it also cannot climb at all. it is the base lizard of fred

pink lizards - you’ll never guess what color it is, although i have also seen them be purple or red as well. it doesn’t possess any notable abilities aside from being more aggressive than others that i have seen. it can climb poles but not walls. it is the base lizard of the winged lizards

yellow lizards - these lizards are unique. they are found in packs of 2-5, and are able to communicate and coordinate with each other. they communicate through antennae on their head, although i have noticed they can no longer communicate with each other if the one with the longest antennae, or the “alpha”, is killed. they can climb poles but not walls

strawberry lizards - these lizards are smaller, but more durable than a pink or yellow lizard. they have a white body with a light pink head. they have a tongue, which can be used to grab creatures like normal but can also be used to grapple onto walls or creatures to pull itself towards them. they have poor hearing, but possess insane eyesight, being able to see creatures from very far away. it can climb poles but not walls. it is was the base lizard for the messenger to nine drops of iron

black lizards - opposite to the strawberry lizard’s amazing eyesight, the black lizards posses no eyesight, instead relying on hearing to find it’s prey. they tend to stay in the dark areas of my ecosystem, like underneath my superstructure. they are typically found in large groups, although they don’t form packs like yellow lizards. they can climb poles but not walls

red lizards - these lizards are very dangerous. they are the most durable, largest, and most aggressive of them all, and have many abilities. it can spit projectiles, much like a caramel lizard can, and it has a tongue that can be used to take items and snap them, rendering them useless. they also don’t appear to be afraid of vultures, instead i have seen some take down vultures or even king vultures before. they can climb poles but not walls. it is the base lizard of the flamethrower lizards

winged lizards - pink lizards that have been given vulture wings. they are highly aggressive due to their base lizard as well as being unstable, and are also one of the few lizards i made that are able to reproduce. they can climb poles, although they prefer to use the wings to walk and fly around.

laser lizards - green lizards that have been outfitted with a miros vulture’s laser in their mouth. i also gave them the ability to climb poles, but not walls. they are less aggressive than the winged lizards, but more durable and heavy. they are also very unstable and able to reproduce (sorry, i was new to genetic configuration when i made these!)

fire breathing lizard - the fire breathing lizard has the base of a red lizard. unfortunately, due to it’s ability to breathe fire, it is unable to use most of the red lizard’s abilities. it cannot spit or use the tongue, but still has the very lethal bite, as well as the addition of breathing fire. it is less aggressive than my other experiments, but is still mildly aggressive due to it’s base lizard. it can climb poles but not walls

taser lizard - a white lizard base with some modifications. the most obvious is that it has the armor of a red centipede while still retaining the camouflage of the base lizard, making it very hard to spot, and if spotted, very hard to kill. it has two tongues that it uses to grab creatures and send an electrical shock through them, killing them. i have amplified the power of the electrical shock to be able to kill most anything.

zoomies lizard - with the base of a cyan lizard and the dna of a yeek, eggbug, jetfish, and a fast aquatic slugcat that ran through my structure at some point. the first of my lizards to be able to make it to your ecosystem, but don’t worry as they are harmless. due to all of its dna, it is very hyper and extremely mobile, but mostly harmless and not very aggressive. actually, they are quite friendly! one of the lizards i made that are allowed to reproduce, this time on purpose

spear-throwing lizard - blue lizard base, with some help from the alternate me in keeper’s portal, it is able to create and throw spears. i used some dna from seven red sun’s messenger to give the lizards the ability to create endless spears (although i let them keep a mouth). they still have a tongue and can climb walls

messenger lizard - strawberry lizard base combined with the aquatic slugcat dna. made very quickly as a messenger to bring slag reset keys to nine drops of iron so he didn’t collapse, but it ended up being a fake water call. dead, presumably killed and dissected by nine drops of iron himself

saint lizard - [TERMINATED]. too deadly, i don’t want to ascend

camouflage vulture - not a lizard but an honorable mention. i gave a miros vulture the camouflage of a white lizard to see what would happen. it went exactly as you would think. i still lose it sometimes, even with it’s collar on

f r e d - fred is… an interesting specimen to say the least. with the base of a caramel lizard, he has six legs and the ability to spit. unfortunately, what he spits is eggs that function the same as a singularity bomb, which is a smaller, damaged, rarefaction cell. as his base lizard is a caramel lizard, he can also charge at his prey, although he rarely uses it and opts for spitting at them instead. the way he can spit these is because the other part of his genes comes from a strange slugcat that passed through my superstructure. it was able to create these eggs, and was smart enough (or stupid enough) to use them in combat. he mostly has this creatures genetics, which caused him to be highly unstable and aggressive. he started spitting the eggs at me as he made its escape. due to mostly having slugcat dna, he is also able to climb poles. his species is called the big bang lizard, but there is only one fred

[bubblybloob]

Fine, I made a slugcat, or so you think.

The Elder

Species: Slugmole

- Divergent evolution of slugcat that is solitary

- 1/3 taller than scugs (about the size of an iterator puppet)

- Thick, hardy skin that can take many hits/bites and occasionally blocks spears

- Powerful claws for digging and fighting

- Burrowing is slower than walking

- Powerful sense of smell

- Clumsy claws, can’t throw spears or rocks

- Climbs poles slowly

- Most stay below the ground and have poor eyesight, so why does this one frequent the above and see just fine?

More info, creature interactions, and lore stuff below

Scugs and Smoles

- Slugmoles have a longer snout, more muscle, whiskers and bent knees (like penguins)

- Slugcats have longer ear and tails, visible legs, and are better at throwing and seeing (aside from the Elder)

- Both tuck their arms in when they aren’t using them

Creature interactions

Aside from leap lizards, small/normal sized lizards may not attempt to go for the bulky Elder unless starving

Green, red, cyan (and orange lizards if you haven’t killed one of their own yet) will attack the Elder like normal (shi- also caramel and strawberry lizards! I forgot about them, caramel because they big and strawberry because they’re usually desperate)

The Elder can also break through lizard’s head armor with a good few thwacks

If you’re burrowing and there are predators, other creatures may take their chances and take refuge in your tunnels

Sometimes creatures will follow the Elder at a distance after being unintentionally saved, in hopes they can use their tunnels to hide (this is commensalism!)

Sometimes they may grow too trusting and get close, to which you can grab and eat the creature if so desired

The Elder’s milky gaze is very reminiscent of pearls, much to scavenger’s bafflement (you are not native to the region you explore, so they’ve never seen your kind before)

If you have a good reputation with scavs, they may try to drag you to their dens or pull/nudge you into one of you’re already close by. Being treated like a pearl is an inconvenience, but is preferable to having low rep where they try to rip your eyes out. You can easily dig out of a den, but they grow more persistent with every escape.

Be wary around tolls.

Lore time baby

You have braved the endless snow for so long, having to surface so often to search for food that you’ve become used to the bright outside. Now you’ve finally reached somewhere warm, but from your jungle perch you see the same metal block that crashed and caused you to have to leave. This time you’re getting answers, no matter the hardships.

I need to stop making stuff every time something fun pops into my head and just stick to one or two things oh my gosh-

[sapphicdib]

Actually just sending an ask:

How many hours of rain world have you played?

This many!

Also because I feel like it I'm gonna explain how I do my Hunter runs so some tips n general shit below the cut :3

(just to preface this: even though I call these "score/points runs" I dont actually use the "official" score run rules, so I can't help you if you actually wanna be able to submit these to like a leaderboard or smth. I use karma caching and vanilla exploits and stuff, mainly bc im just doing this to have fun)

Okay so the initial setup is:

Get a king vulture mask on the first cycle. This makes it so if you die, you just restart and don't have to re-do a ton of stuff. Use the vulture grub in LF_A04 and fight them in that long room to the left of it.

You can feel the difference between a regular vulture mask and a king vulture mask. Getting a king vulture mask specifically is crucial.

Taming the blue lizard that spawns in LF_D03 with a noodlefly or centipede is pretty easy, although those motherfuckers are SO GODDAMN STUPID it might take you a minute to actually get them to cooperate. Or not die.

Den with your new friend in LF_S02. This is my base of operations until I actually...start playing the game lol. I use vanilla exploits and karma cache/starve cycle (whatever u wanna call it) until I have the survivor, the friend, the martyr, and the saint passages.

Next, I go and get the echos in subterranean and farm arrays, letting myself get teleported back to LF_S02 each time.

After that, I go up to sky islands and den in SI_S04, and the next cycle I get the sky islands echo.

This is where the run actually starts lol. Some tips I have are:

Rush Pebbles. Start working up to getting the monk passage by eating the poppycorn in sky islands, eating pebbles' neurons when you get to the top of the wall, eating the poppycorn at the top of chimney, etc and so forth. Getting the monk passage is WAAAAY harder than the hunter so I always go for it first.

Don't get the chimney echo the first time you pass it. When you're back down from Pebbles, go down to CC_C13 and grab the vulture grub, then go back up to CC_C09 and cheese vulture kills by summoning them and killing them while they're passed out. This also helps if you somehow lost your mask along your journey.

Let yourself kill scavengers. They're 6 points each and take only one or two hits to kill. You can always repair your rep in the later cycles of the game, it actually doesn't take as many cycles as you think.

Technically reviving Moon is sub-optimal, since it only gives you 100 extra points. I don't care I will never not revive her <3. However if you do actually wanna get like, the highest score possible, skip this. Shoreline is ass for spawns and you don't get many kills.

For me, once I'm done reviving Moon, I like hanging around Industrial, Pipeyard, Outskirts, and Farm Arrays to just start killing tons of shit. There are plenty of green and caramel lizards, which each give you 10 and 11 points respectively, and cyans are also everywhere. Just be careful in outskirts bc the red lizards there are free-roaming, unlike industrial where it cant get out of that one room.

My personal route to getting the wanderer is: Farm Arrays -> Sky Islands -> Skip Chimney go straight to The Exterior -> Five Pebbles -> Chimney Canopy (den near the echo) -> Industrial -> Shaded -> Shoreline -> Garbage Wastes -> Industrial -> Pipeyard -> Industrial -> Outskirts -> Drainage -> Subterranean. You will likely get the nomad easily doing this, I usually get it going from Farm Arrays to Pebbles.

BE BRAVE!! You have to kill in order to get points, after all! A death is only -3 points. Even if it's frustrating, you can easily make that up by killing a squidcada or whatever. Sometimes you gotta run headfirst at that vulture, man. You'll be surprised how strong Hunter actually is.

That's my advice, other than play the game obsessively for 700 hours LMAO. At this point I have hunter's spawns memorized so I know where to go to find stuff to kill. It also doesn't help that I have chronic lilypad hunterbrain so.........yeah!

[marigoldvance]

Trick or Treat 19

prompt: (Belated Treat) The characters from your verse, but… one of them is a radio presenter.

Kíli has been at this job for going on two years now. He loves it. Truck driving isn’t something he imagined himself doing – he has an MA in psychology that now frowns at him in disapproval whenever he steps foot in his mum’s den – but it’s freeing in exactly the way he needs after the burnout he suffered coming out of uni. It took a year for him to get his rump off the sofa, crippled under the heavy weight of depression and anxiety, and awhile after that to procure the correct license.

Now look at him, hauling appliances across the country. Always on time, always with a smile.

The only downside to this line of work is the long stretches between seeing the faces of those he cares about. The lack of human contact was originally what drew him, unable to muster the social energy to keep up with his friends and family.

These days, he’s in a better place mentally, and thinks he can manage a good night out, but it just doesn’t happen as often as he’d like.

Still, he’s not entirely alone.

“This is Fíli Durin, and you’re listening to ELM.98, keeping you company until 2AM.”

Kíli likes his voice. Deep and rich as salted caramel. And his taste in music. All classic rock blended with snaps of recent hip hop and folk. Once Fíli Durin included a symphony that moved Kíli to tears. Damn if he could remember which one.

The best thing about Fíli’s slot is the callers. They’re some of the bleakest, most unusual brand of person Kíli has ever heard. People calling in to talk about love gone sour, whether or not they’re the asshole, what to do if they burned their post-pub frozen pizza, sounding morose and lost and desperate.

Fíli guides them through their problems in lapping tones, a shepherd to his flock, leading them to conclusions they believe they reached on their own.

Kíli doesn’t call.

Well, he doesn’t call before 1:45AM, waits until the congestion has thinned and no one else needs Fíli to hold their hand through accidentally losing their flatmate’s pet lizard to the neighbour’s cat. At 1:45AM, Fíli allows the music to carry his listeners through to the end of his show, freeing him up to speak to Kíli about nothing and everything before he has to relinquish the studio to Easy Listening with Benji Bones.

Their conversations are some of the best memories Kíli’s collected in his 25 years of life, each one more precious than the last, even when the topic was entirely about chickens and whether or not they’ll remember their Jurassic roots, rise up and take over the world.

(Kíli firmly believes they will.)

They’ve never had the opportunity to meet in person, although Kíli’s passed through Fíli’s city on a few occasions.

This time, he made sure to take a few shortcuts, picked up speed where he could, and is ahead of schedule. He can see the city glittering through the dark in the distance, a beacon of prospect and promise.

Fíli makes his stomach do somersaults and his heart pound and his palms sweat when he shares his thoughts on natural versus processed-to-shit peanut butter. He prefers the latter. And yet, Kíli has never been more excited to meet someone than he is to meet Fíli, nerves smothered by potential.

There’s something there, Kíli can feel it, in the short silences that hang between them comfortably down the line, as the truck rumbles ahead and Fíli prepares to head home.

They agreed to meet at the diner on the outskirts of the city limits, so Kíli wouldn’t have to worry about where to park the monster he drives. Kíli objected at first, but Fíli insisted and Kíli couldn’t say no. The man’s voice could bring about world peace if Fíli ever gave it a go.

Fifteen minutes now. Fourteen.

“—will get you through the next fifteen minutes, everyone. Thanks for listening everyone, and remember, to quote Ozzy, Viagra’s a great sleeping drug.”

Kíli’s foot pressed a little harder on the gas pedal, the smile on his face aching.

[hufflesmonsters]

Baker and the Beast, Forever After

A/N: This has been months in the making, but I finally finished it! This story has a special place in my heart, and I can’t just casually mention an important chapter in Belle and Igrisz’s life without writing it out fully. 

The lake water was calm as you walked out onto your back porch, a coffee in one hand as you held a croissant in the other. The soft wind blew the wisps of hair that fell from your bun across your face as you sat down on the chair. Several alligators swam nearby, their reptilian eyes looking at you with disinterest. You felt yourself relax against the wood as you took in your surroundings. It wasn’t often that you were the first one up, Igrisz was always a morning person, er, lizard. Today was a rare treat indeed.

It was also a calm before the storm.

Your mother had expressed interest in meeting “whoever it was that is making you smile again”, and Igrisz, for some ungodly reason, was wanting desperately to meet your family. Which meant your mother, the mother who absolutely feared the infamous lizardman, and had absolutely no idea how you’d managed to “tame the beast”.  You took a bite out of your pastry. Your mother was likely to drop dead.

A strong hand landed in your shoulder, the thumb rubbing soothingly against your skin. You smiled and placed your pastry on your lap before reaching up and placing your now free hand over his. “You're up early,” Igrisz's deep rumble sounded as he sank into the chair on your left.

You looked over at him, accepting the kiss he placed on your cheek. “I'm enjoying the morning,” you said simply.

“You're worried,” he stated flatly. You smiled as you stared back at the water, after two years together, he knew you inside out. “It's understandable.”

“My mom is going to be here by noon, and I don't know if she's going to survive meeting you. She claims to have a frail heart, I don't want to see if it was a joke or not. And then your brothers.” You turned to look at your boyfriend. “Thraz and Irsosz? What are they going to think?”

Igrisz grasped your hand, rubbing small circles in the skin. “Let's worry about your mother,” he suggested. “My family won't care one bit.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

He snorted. “Trust me, I know.” He stood up, his large shadow casting over you. “Bruxo will be here soon, we have to go prepare the den for Thraz and Irsosz,” he leaned over and nuzzled your temple lovingly. “I'll be back before your mother arrives.”

You grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to it. “I love you,” you told him. While you've told him that multiple times in the past, he never failed to loose the grace in his step. You watched, snickering in glee as he tripped backwards over his own tail and nearly fell into the water.

“I, uh, love you too,” he said coughing into his fist. He cleared his throat and straightened his back. “I’ll get going before you make me lose whatever dignity I have left. God knows you'll have plenty of time later on.”

“You promise?” You asked with a wink, chuckling when he tossed you a dirty look before jumping into the water. You shook your head as he immediately disappeared, the sap was probably hitting himself with a rock for getting so flustered. It was a good thing that he had a thick skull, otherwise he would have beat himself to death long ago.

You stood, grabbing your now empty mug and shoved the rest of the croissant into your mouth. You had a lot of work to do between now and noon, and most of it involved stress baking. You had your mother's favorite recipes all set out on the counter, hoping that when the news broke she'd be comforted by the sweets you'd shove into her face.

You set to work, putting your music on shuffle as you made your way into the kitchen. Aurora was coming by shortly to help out and to keep Bruxo out of your way. You loved him, truly, but he was a menace when it came to your baking. He was always sneaking pieces of cookie dough, slices of cake. You once caught him trying to get out of your house with two pies in hand. At least with Aurora here, you had a chance at keeping most of your goodies.

Your first recipe was a simple lemon brownie, both you and your mother loved them. You grabbed the bowl of lemons that you had bought the day before and grabbed your zester, resigning yourself with the knowledge that you were about to lose either some skin, nail, or sanity by the end of this. You were thankful that this particular recipe didn't call for much zest, only a teaspoon. But still, that took a lot of lemons.

Once you got the zest out of the way, and only lost half of your nail in the process, you quickly went to work on the rest of the recipe. You combined the dry ingredients, mixing in the butter after it was done. You whisked the eggs, lemon juice and zest in a separate bowl, possibly letting out your stress along the way who's to really say. You combined both bowls and mixed, pausing near the end to grease your pan. You finished folding the mixture, then slowly poured it into the pan.  You placed it in the oven and stood back up, hands on your hips as you debated which sugary treat to bake next.

You turned, and let out a scream as you came face to face with Aurora. The other woman jumped, blue eyes wide as she slowly lowered her hands from where she'd been gathering her hair.

“I did knock,” she said after a moment.

“I didn't hear you, when did you come in?” You asked as you recovered from the mini heart attack she had given you.

“Caught you when you were beating those eggs like they owed you money,” Aurora said. “Figured it was best to leave you be.”

You nodded, mouth pressed in a thin line. “I'm just, stressed I guess.”

“Completely understandable,” Aurora said easily as she looked at one of the bookmarked pages in your cookbook. “I'm freaking out and it's not even going to affect me.” When you purse your lips at her, shaking your head when she looked back up at you. “What? You know I’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” you said with a sigh as you grabbed the cookbook to see what to bake next. “Is Bruxo already out there?”

“Yeah, I made sure he was with Igrisz before coming in,”  Aurora confirmed. “Even waited an extra two minutes just in case he tried to sneak back up to the surface.”

“Good, the last thing I need is him trying to sneak away with something,” you ran a hand over your face before sighing. You began to flip through the book, “what do you think we should do next?”

“Ooh, the apple crumb cake,” Aurora said as she pointed to the recipe that you landed on. “You baked it that one time we had a fight and I forgot why I was ever upset.” You smiled as you remembered that day, your first fight with your friend. It wasn’t over anything bad, really. The two of you were literally fighting over whether or not Cap was going to die in Infinity War or not. You ended up winning, and baked the cake to help get yourself back on Aurora’s, and Bruxo’s, good side.

“It is my secret weapon,” you said in agreement.

By noon, the two of you had finished your baking marathon with a chocolate turtle poke cake, your personal favorite and made everyone’s day whenever you offered it in your shop. You didn’t have time to use homemade caramel, but you found that using the sweetened condensed milk version was better suited for this recipe. Lastly was the chocolate chip cheesecake that you often baked once every month, or for special events. It was a fan favorite, and your mother’s absolute fave.

You bit your lip as you looked at the trays, all covered to keep their warmth. You hoped this would be enough. You glanced up as Igrisz and Bruxo walked into the living room, Bruxo rubbing a towel against his scales as Igrisz placed his around his neck. The two lizardmen looked straight to the food, a loud grumble sounded.

You grabbed a wooden spoon and held it up to them in warning. “Don’t even think about it, Bruxo.”

“Why is he exempt from this,” Bruxo demanded as he looked towards his elder brother.

“Because he has a different threat,” you said as you narrowed your eyes to your boyfriend. Igrisz gulped, but nodded all the same. Your sweets were safe at the moment. “Now, my mother called, she’ll be here in ten minutes.”

“I’ll hide in the guest room,” Bruxo said, he turned to Aurora and held out his scaly hand. “My lady?”

“I’m staying out here, as moral support,” Aurora told him as she went over to your side, wrapped an arm around your shoulder as she drew you near. “But, yeah, hide please.”

Bruxo pouted, but did as he was told. He paused by his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder and nodded in silent support. Igrisz nodded at him, patting his shoulder before gently shoving his younger brother towards the hallway.

“I’ll stay here,” Igrisz said as he stepped towards you, reaching for your hand and pulling you in. His free hand laid on your waist as he pressed your hand against his chest. “I’m here,” he said again softly.

You smiled up at him, eyes tearing up despite the absolute cheesiness of the act. “You’re here,” you said in agreement.

“You two are adorable,” Aurora cooed, ripping the two of you out of your Notebook Moment. She smiled adoringly at the two of you, a hand over her heart before she grew more serious. “Your mother is driving up,” she said as she nodded her head towards the window.

You could hear your mother’s engine now, the hum sputtering a bit. You drew in a deep breath, and withdrew from Igrisz. You turned and faced the door, coming over and exiting to greet your mother outside. “Mom!” You said with a grin, reaching down and wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Ah, mija,” your mother said as she withdrew, her brown eyes sparkling as she took you in. “You look stressed, what is the matter?”

“Nothing, mama,” you said softly as you smiled down at her. “When you meet him, just, keep an open mind?”

“I always do,” you mother said, lying through her teeth. She never kept an open mind when it came to past lovers, always skeptical of what they were doing. Granted, some of her mistrust was from several men taking advantage of your self esteem, and some women who weren’t sure if they were gay or bi and had used you as a way to tell. As a result, your mother tended to dislike everyone you brought to her.

“He really loves me, mama,” you said to her softly as you turned to open the front door. You stood to the side, watching her as she entered the house.

“Ah, Aurora, how are you darling?” Your mother said as she spotted the blonde first. When Aurora smiled and said “fine”, she searched the room for your boyfriend. You watched, tense as her brown eyes slowly went from the kitchen, to the living room where Igrisz stood. “¡El diablo del agua! Corre, chicas corren! ¡No los tomarás, tirano flaco!” (1) You watched in horror as your mother tried to take off her shoe.

“Mom!” You placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her as Igrisz took a step forward.

“Ma’am-”

“¡No te acerques más! ¡Aléjate de mis bebés!” (2)

“Mama! He’s the boyfriend!” You cried as you took her shoe out of her hand before she could throw it.

“WHAT?!” Your mother looked at you in shock before looking back at Igrisz, who was unaware of just how close he was to losing a tooth via shoe throw. “When you said you were going to bake him into submission, I didn’t think you meant all the way to the bedroom!”

“I, well,” you paused. “Not into the bedroom, no.” Aurora let out a groan from where she stood, she hated hearing about your and Igrisz’s bedroom activities. You coughed as your mother looked at you with wide eyes. “I mean-”

“Your daughter won me over with her baking, and we formed a relationship a few months after that,” Igrisz said as he saved you from nearly spilling details about your sex life to your own mother. “I care for her greatly, and I wanted to meet the woman who shaped her into the person she is today.”

Your mother paused, gathering her thoughts, before standing tall and proud. Her head was held high, and her chest puffed out in pride. “Yes, I raised my Belle into a strong woman,” she said as she reached up and pinched your cheek.

“I can see where she gets her resolve from,’ Igrisz said with a chuckle as he came closer. “Did you know she yelled at me the first night we met?”

“Of course she did, she always was a little fighter,” your mother cooed as she finally let your cheek go. She turned to Aurora, “did you know about this?”

“She’s dating his little brother,” you said.

Your mother placed a hand over her heart as she looked at the two of you. “There’s another one?” She turned to you accusingly, like you were the direct reason as to why there was more than one lizardman.

“You want to meet him?” You asked with a raised brow, knowing that Bruxo was probably halfway out of the guest bedroom by now.

“Ay dios, mija, I don’t think my weak heart could handle that,” your mother said placing a hand over her heart.

“You were about to beat the shit out of my boyfriend with your shoe!” You said as you shook said shoe at her.

“Oh, give me that,” your mother snatched her footwear back. “I might as well meet my future in law,” she said in resignation.

“Bruxo!” Igrisz called, arms crossed as his brother emerged from the shadows. “Behave,” he growled in warning.

“I always do,” Bruxo said as he came over to your mother, brushing past Igrisz who’d moved to stand behind you, and leaned down to bring her hand to his lips. “A pleasure.”

“Good job,” your mother whispered to Aurora. “Good job, both of you.”

The two lizardmen chuckled as both you and Aurora nodded. “I baked you some things, in case it went south.” You lead your mother over to the counter where you unveiled the treats, your eye caught Bruxo sneaking over, and immediately grabbed the wooden spoon. “Mama gets first pick,” you told him in warning.

Your mother cupped your cheek, a fond smile on her face, before grabbing a slice of apple cake and a lemon brownie. “My sweet girl,” she said as she stepped away. You smiled at her as she took a bite out of her cake, relief flooding through you as you took in everything.

Aurora and Bruxo shared a slice of apple cake, the blonde giggling as he tried to feed her a piece, the crumbs falling. Your mother talked with Igrisz, looking laughably small as she stood by him. Her words were fast, her eyes alight as the two of them talked about you, and your relationship. Your heart swelled with emotion, your eyes misting as Igrisz glanced over to you, his red eyes alight in happiness. You smiled widely at him, you’d never been more happy and in love with this overgrown lizard.

Your mother left hours later, but not after officially adopting Bruxo and Igrisz into the family. You were half tempted to warn Aurora about your mother’s tendency to show up out of the blue with a freshly cooked meal in hand. But, after being teased for weeks by your friend, you were more than happy to sit back and wait for the day your mother decided that a seven foot tall, nine hundred pound lizard man was in serious need of “nourishment” for he was still a “growing boy”. Igrisz had to leave the room when she had said that, and you could hear him cackling from the bathroom.  

You sighed as you looked at the dishes in the sink, placing your hands on the counter as you contemplated whether or not you should do them now or later on tonight. You sighed as two strong arms wrapped around your middle, Igrisz nuzzling your cheek.

“You’re miles away, aren’t you?” He rumbled.

You turned and pressed a kiss to his snout, giggling when he licked your nose in return. “Partly,” you admitted. “This all went far better than I was expecting, I guess I’m just trying to accept it and focus on your brothers.”

“Ah, well, they’ll be here shortly,” Igrisz said as he turned you to face him, closing his eyes when Bruxo let out a gag in the background. “Brux, I will drown you,” he warned before sighing and looking back down at you. “Why is he here, again?”

“Because your brothers will be here shortly,” you reminded him with a smile. You shook your head and leaned against his chest. “And you’re sure that they won’t mind that I’m human?”

“Giving that Thraz’s girlfriend is currently halfway down our driveway, I would say, yes, I am one hundred percent sure that they won’t mind.”

“Oh, good,” you closed your eyes, only for them to shoot open as you pulled away from him. “What do you mean, Thraz’s girlfriend is halfway down my driveway?” You demanded, eyes flying to the window where you saw a jeep with the words “Everglades Sanctuary” on the side. “Who could that possibly be?” You left the comfort of Igrisz’s arms and walked over to your door, opening it as the driver got out.

She was beautiful, with a rich reddish brown skin that shone in the sunlight. Her long black hair was pulled up in a ponytail, with some strands that fell out swaying in the breeze. The woman shut her car door and stretched, a grunt escaping as she settled. She saw both you and Aurora coming close, and smiled widely. “You must be Belle and Aurora,” she greeted as she came over and shook your hands. “I’m Jasmine,” she added.

“A pleasure to meet you,” you said with a smile before cocking your head. “What brings you out here?”

Jasmine frowned. “Igrisz didn’t tell you that I was coming also?”

Realization hit you. “Oh god, oh no,” you sighed and shook your head. “He did, I thought you’d be, well…”

“Ah,” Jasmine let out a giggle as Aurora patted your back. “Not to worry,” she smiled at you warmly. “I thought you were going to be a lizardman as well up until before we departed from the sanctuary.” Well that was a slight relief.

“And where is Thraz?” Aurora asked as she peered at the jeep. “Did he not come with you?”

“He’s, ah, a tad bit too big to travel via car,” Jasmine said as she rubbed the back of her neck. She glanced behind the two of you, waving with a smile on her face, “hey Igrisz, Bruxo!”

“Jasmine!” Bruxo greeted as he leaned against the porch railing, his tail dipping into the water. He gave her a toothy grin as he crossed his arms. “Decided to ditch the old fossil?”

Before Jasmine could say a word, a large alabaster hand shot out of the water and latched onto Bruxo’s tail. In an instant, the young lizardman was dragged off of the dock and into the water with a loud scream, water flying everywhere as he landed into the water. Igrisz started cackling as two large alligator like forms rose out from the depths, one considerably larger than the other. Bruxo broke the surface, coughing and complaining as he swam to the shore, the other two following suit.

The first to leave the water was a massive lizardman, he had to damn near twenty feet long if you had to guess. Scars littered his face and body, showing just how hard he fought to live this long in the world. His amber eyes roamed from you to Aurora, before looking back at Bruxo who shook himself dry. He turned as Igrisz came walking up, and smiled. “Ah, little brother,” he rumbled as he threw an arm over Igrisz and drew him into a hug.

“Thraz,” Igrisz greeted warmly before stepping back as the second lizardman emerged.

He wasn’t as big as Thraz, more Igrisz’s height than anything else. He was white, his pearlized scales shimmering in the light as the water flowed off of his skin. Scars littered the side of his face and down his neck, the light pink contrasting nicely against his skin. His bright pink eyes glittered warmly as he spotted Igrisz, laughing as the two of them embraced.

“Babe,” Igrisz turned and held your hand, drawing your closer to the three of them. “This is Thraz, and his girlfriend Jasmine,” he nodded at the two of them. “And this is my twin, Irsosz,” he added as he nodded to the albino lizard next to him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” you said nervously as you looked from one giant to a smaller one.

Thraz tilted his head as he took you in, his amber eyes blank which spiked your nerves. Then, suddenly, he gave you a toothy smile and drew you into a crushing hug. “Good to meet the girl who put Igrisz in his place,” he said with a chuckle that rattled your bones.

“Don’t hog her,” Irsosz huffed as he drew you from the giant, engulfing you into another crushing embrace. “Thank you for choosing my insufferable twin,” he “whispered” to you, chuckling when Igrisz let out a indingant grunt. “Now, who’s this other morsel?” He asked as he focused his sights on Aurora.

“That  is my sugar pie, my cinnamon apple,” Bruxo crowed as he hoisted Aurora up several feet to present her to his family.  

“Hi,” Aurora said meekly.

Jasmine floated over to you, a smile on her face as the two of you watched as Thraz and Irsosz greeted Aurora. “I see Bruxo lives up to his reputation,” she said lowly.

“Oh, you have no idea,” you groaned as you pinched the bridge of your nose. “I’m glad to see that someone in the family isn’t so dramatic,” you added as you took in Thraz’s calm demeanor.

“Yeah,” Jasmine said as she looked fondly at her boyfriend. “I’d known him for years, it’s almost unbelievable that we’re together like this,” she admitted.

“How did you guys meet?”

“He lives at an alligator sanctuary I work at, he saved me from a falling tree one day and, well, things just happened after that,” she smiled at the memory. ‘What about you?”

“He punched through my window,” you said calmly.

“He what?”

“Yep,” you nodded as you glanced over at her. “Then I baked him some cookies and he suddenly didn’t want to make me leave anymore,” you snorted as Igrisz glanced over at you, red eyes pleading with you to let it go. “But, looking back on it, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jasmine nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. “Sounds rather impactful,” she mused. “From what I heard, Igrisz used to be a huge hothead.”

“Oh he still is,” you said. “He still terrorizes the town, but Aurora and my mother, and me of course, are exempt from his tyranny.”

“That’s because this whole family is all sorts of dramatic,” Thraz cut into your conversation, his amber eyes rolling as his younger brothers protested. “I don’t know how they ended up like this, I certainly didn’t raise them to act like, well, this.”

“That’s rich, coming from the lizard who caught a tree like it was nothing just to flex,” Jasmine snorted, snickering when he sent her a betrayed look.

“Did you really?” Bruxo asked him with furrowed brows.

“Gods, and you call us dramatic,” Irsosz rolled his eyes.

“I want none of that from you all,” Thraz growled.

Aurora rolled her eyes as she was finally put back down on the ground, smacking Bruxo’s arm lightly. “Don’t act like you didn’t give me a heart attack on the night we met,” she chided. “Standing in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night.”

“Don’t blame him, he’s an idiot by nature,” Irsosz said as he looked at his younger brother, crossing his arms. “An idiot who tends to venture further downstream than he promised to when he first came down here.”

“I thought you’d like the company,” Bruxo said in his defense.

“I like your distance.”

You clapped your hands, smiling at the four lizards as they broke out of their brotherly spat. “Well, I don’t know if anyone would be interested in some dinner?”

“Oh, I am starving,” Jasmine said as she placed a hand over her stomach. “I’d be happy to help out.”

“Same here,” Aurora said as she joined your side.

“We might go hunting, if that’s alright, babe,” Igrisz said as he came over to your side. “It’s been a while since we’ve all been in one place.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” you said as you cupped his cheek and pulled him down, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before pulling back. “We can eat on the back patio, and you guys can come by when you’re done. How’s that?”

“Sounds good,” he said as he pressed another kiss to your lips before stepping back, glaring at Bruxo when he gagged. “Aurora, I might kill your boyfriend.”

“I’d understand,” Aurora said, closing her eyes when Bruxo let out a whine.

Thraz placed a hand on Jasmine’s head, a fond look on his face as the two of them shared a look that exchanged far more emotion than words could ever convey. He nodded towards you and Aurora, and then looked to his younger siblings. “Let’s go, I saw some cows on the swim up.”

Oh god, not Mr. Abernathy’s cows, you looked to Igrisz in panic.

“Let’s go a county over,” Igrisz suggested as he caught your gaze. “There’s plenty of cows and deer,” he added.

“Yeah, that’s where I saw the cows,” Thraz said with furrowed brows, rolling his amber eyes as he placed a hand on Bruxo and steered him towards the lake. “We’ll be back soon, ladies,” he said with a dip of his head.

The three of you watched as they waded into the water, and waited until they disappeared into the depths. Aurora clapped her hands, looking between the two of you. “So, let’s take a vote. Cook? Or order some take out?”

“If I have to cook again I will cry,” you said with a world weary sigh. “Count me down for take out.”

“Take out is good with me,” Jasmine said with a shrug.

“Pizza?” You asked as you looked around the three of you.

“Pizza,” came the answer.

The boys swam up three hours later, their eyes glowing in the setting sunlight as they floated down the river towards your house. You prayed to god that no one would link them to you, the last thing you wanted was an angry old farmer knocking on your door. You would absolutely die if that had happened. And then Igrisz would die for making you go through that. Jasmine and Aurora left shortly after the boys came back, taking their respective boyfriends with them. Irsosz left shortly after, bidding the two of you a good night before slinking into the water to go to the den that Igrisz had prepared earlier that day.

You smiled up at Igrisz as the two of you were soon left alone, leaning against his side as he settled down in the chair next to you. “This was a good day,” you said after a while, the two of you content to just sit there and watch the fireflies dance across the water.

“I told you they wouldn’t care,” Igrisz said as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and held you close. “All that worrying for nothing.”

“My mother was going to knock out another tooth if I hadn’t have stopped her,” you snorted as you poked his side, smiling when he grunted. “But I’m glad it all worked out. This was a good day,” you said again.

“It’s not over yet,” Igrisz said as he stood, taking your hands in his and pulling you up. “I have something to show you,” he said with a nervous swish of his tail.

You raised a brow at his nervous tick, but nodded all the same. “Yeah, should I get in the boat?”

“Yeah, yeah, that would make it easier,” Igrisz said with a nod as he let go of your hands. He took a step back and walked with you towards the boat that floated off of the back deck. It was a little system that the two of you came up with when you first got together. There were places where he was eager to show you, and most of them were accessible via water only. Hence, the boat. Igrisz would grab ahold of the rope attached to the front of the boat and tow you to the place without much fuss.

You slowly climbed into the boat and yelped as a splash of water hit you as Igrisz jumped into the lake. He rose back up to the surface with a grin, barking out a laugh as you glared at him. “Sorry, babe,” he said as he grabbed the rope.

You rolled your eyes and settled into your seat as he set off, his powerful tail propelling the two of you across the water. You watched as the fireflies glowed against the twilight, the orange glow reflecting against the deep blue water. The spanish moss swayed in the light breeze, the owls were already beginning their nightly calls. The cicadas were loud and frequent, a sure sign that summer was truly here. You watched as the boat was taken into a cove, masked by two willows that covered the entrance.

It was a small little island, secluded near the edge of the lake closer to the forest than the roads. Trees masked the area from view, keeping it a secret between just the two of you. You waited until the boat was settled against the shore and took Igrisz’s hand as he helped you out of the boat.

“Do you trust me?” He asked as he kept a hold of your hands.

You smiled up at him and nodded. “I trust you,” you answered.

Igrisz pressed a quick kiss to your nose before turning you around and placing his hands over your eyes. “I’ll guide you,” he whispered into your ear as he slowly moved the two of you forwards. “Watch your step, there’s a log a few feet in front of you.”

You nodded and poked around with your foot as you took a step forwards, you paused as you felt the log and stepped upwards. From then on it was smooth walking, the two of you waddling as Igrisz took you to wherever, you really had no idea. This was new territory for you, Igrisz had taken you to everywhere else but this small little island. It was pretty exciting actually, you wondered what was in stow for you.

“We’re here,” Igrisz announced suddenly, stopping the both of you. His hands were removed from your eyes, settling on your shoulders as you slowly opened your eyes.

The area was beautiful, low hanging branches covered in solar lamps illuminated the area around the two of you. You gasped as you looked around the small clearing, the soft light casting a slight glow of the mushrooms that adorned the ground. A slight breeze rustled through the clearing, ruffling through your hair as you turned to face Igrisz.

“This is amazing,” you said, tone full of wonder. “How come you’ve never taken me here before now?�� Igrisz rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s a special place. I didn’t want to take you here until I was completely ready to.” He held your gaze now, red eyes boring into brown. “I’m ready now,” he said as he took a step towards you. He held something in his hand, fingers closed around it gingerly.

He paused, looking down at you with pure love in his eyes. While his demeanor was calm and collected, the slight twitch of his tail gave away the nervousness he possessed. “Belle,” his voice cracked slightly but he soldiered on, “when we first met I wanted nothing more than to see you leave forever. But then,” he cracked a smile as his free hand came up and cupped your cheek, “then you yelled at me, you stood up to me. It was humbling, and then your baking…”

“Focus,” you said with a slight chuckle.

“You brought out a new side of me, a side I never thought existed. You made me calmer, I felt peace for the first time around you. I looked forward to coming to your home each night, even to the point where I was patrolling around your home during the day time.” He slowly got onto one knee, the two of you now eye level. His hand came up and uncurled, a beautiful silver necklace with a pointed ivory looking pendant hanging from the end of it shown up at you. You looked between it and him, understanding finally hitting you. “I know it’s not a ring, but it’s the closest I can get you. Belle Gabrielle Dubois, will you do me the honor of being my wife? My mate?”

You wiped the tears away from your eyes, grateful that you weren’t wearing makeup for once. You nodded, a watery smile on your face as you gave him a quick, but passionate kiss. “Yes,” you rasped as you pulled back, giggling as he kissed you again. You took the necklace and inspected it, taking notice of the pendant. “Wait… is this an alligator tooth?”

“Well, uh,” Igrisz coughed slightly. “So, according to our tradition, we exchange scales to wear over our hearts. Since that’s not the case, I thought you could, still… wear something of mine…?”

“Is this that tooth you chipped when you slipped in the road and hit that motorcyclists two months ago?”

“That’s not important here,” he said with a couch. Which basically meant ‘yes’.

You gave him a smile, and kissed him softly. “I love it, a fond memory to wear forever,” you said as you pulled away, giving him a wink as you placed the necklace around your neck, the pendant settling right over your heart.

Igrisz rolled his eyes as he stood to his full height, wrapping his arms around your middle and lifting you up to his height. You cupped his cheeks and stared down into his eyes, a fond smile on your face as the two of you just stared at each other. Words couldn’t convey how happy you were, you literally felt like you were about to combust. You were in a new chapter in your life, one that you never thought would happen. And you were so happy that it was with Igrisz.

Recipes talked about

Lemon brownie

Apple crumbs cake 

Chocolate turtle poke cake

Chocolate chip cheesecake

Spanish:

(1) The water devil! Run, girls run! You will not take them, you slimy tyrant!

(2) Don't come any closer! Stay away from my babies!